1. Field of the Invention
This invention most generally relates to a method and apparatus or assembly for regularly and controllably flexing and extending, by oscillating or by undulating, the feet and the legs of a patient who is unable to move their legs and/or feet due to some physical or mental disorder. The present invention is also directed to an oscillating or undulating footboard assembly which is adjustable and adaptable to the users size. More particularly, the oscillating footboard assembly is designed to regularly flex and extend, by a controllable amount of excursion, at settable periods of time and at controllable frequencies, the feet and the legs of a patient who is unable to move their legs and feet due to a physical ailment such as a stroke, coma, or paralysis.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hospital workers, on a daily basis, see patients suffering from medical condition called "footdrop". This condition occurs when a patient is unable to move their legs and feet due to a stroke, coma, or paralysis. The foot goes into an extended, pointed position. Unless the muscles of the feet and legs are regularly flexed and extended by a physical therapist or nurse, they "freeze" in the extended position and is extremely difficult if not impossible to resolve this problem. Presently there is no device known to the applicants hereof which is similar to the assembly/device disclosed herein which even remotely addresses the prevention of "footdrop". In many hospitals and other facilities for the care of the infirmed, plain pieces of plywood, unfinished and with sharp square edges have been used because nothing more proper is available. The plywood is used by placing it between the footboard of the bed and the footend of the mattress. The idea of a footboard is to maintain the position of the feet up against the board to prevent extension of the feet as mentioned above. However, when an average-sized person is positioned properly in bed, their feet do not come close to resting on the board. Even if the feet of the patient are placed so that they rest against the footboard, the onset of pressure will result in the patient being moved toward the head-end of the bed and thus footdrop will nevertheless take place. Further, the use of such a primitive approach is the breakdown of skin of the feet of the patient due to the pressure of the foot against the hard surface of the plywood.
Presently there is on the market, leg braces called Podus Splints. They are very bulky, made of hard plastic, with numerous VELCRO.TM. brand of fastener straps to keep them on the patient. These splints cause patients to become hot and uncomfortable; and frequently cause deep grooves on the patients skin. Many patients refuse to wear these devices. The "footboards" presently used offer no means of movement for the foot and without regular motion, footdrop will occur.
After reviewing patents which were developed in a search, no structure or method for the continuous and controlled regular flexing of the feet and legs of bed-ridden patients similar to the present invention was found nor was one suggested. None of the prior art known to the inventors hereof satisfies the need for effectively passively exercising/flexing the feet and legs in an effective, simple and economically feasible way and thereby avoiding the so-called "freezing" phenomenon.
No one has considered the advantage of having a device such as has been disclosed herein, which can be easily mounted on the bed of a patient and easily and effectively attached to the patient for the purpose of flexing, by simply oscillating a footboard, the feet and/or legs of a patient who may be unable to or instructed not to move his or her legs.
The U.S. patents reviewed were: U.S. Pat. No. 3,021,837 to Newell; U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,251 to Pounds; U.S. Pat. No. 3,893,197 to Ricke; U.S. Pat. No. 4,104,751 to Churchman; U.S. Pat. No. 4,277,660 to Lemmer; U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,572 to Thumberger; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,140 to Hovis et al. In particular the Newell patent shows a footboard with pads and straps. The Pounds patent discloses an angular adjustment. The Ricke '197 patent discloses a telescopic adjustment and the Ricke et al '334 patent describes a footboard with vertical height adjustment. In the Churchman patent there is described a footboard with a frictional tongue to insert between mattresses. Lemmer and Thumberger teach adjustable footboards. Finally Hovis et al describes a passive motion device which is inflatable.